2007: The Best Of The Rest

Lists, lists and more lists, if your mind hasn’t ceased to care, here’s the last remnants of all things 2007…

Gigs of the Year:
1. Besnard Lakes: Liverpool Barfly (review)
2. Yeasayer: Liverpool Barfly (review)
3. Faust: Liverpool Barfly (review)
4. Deerhunter: Cafe Saki, Manchester
5. Okkervil River: Carling AcademyEvent of the Year:Led Zep reformation – bah! Radiohead giving their LP away – rubbish! Hard-Fi shunning cover art – do me a favour!
In 2007, simply nothing compared to Prince‘s 21-night sold out residency at London’s O2 Arena.
Myself and three friends were lucky enough to spend a weekend in the capital catching the Minneapolis legend in all his glory on a Friday and Saturday night. On both nights he played hugely differing sets, throwing in innumerable classics and a spattering of covers during shows which lasted well over two hours.
And as if that wasn’t enough, we were treated on the Friday night to an aftershow in the intimate IndigO club to a further two-hour performance as Prince ran through extended jams on a breathless night of musical magnificence.
During the course of his 21-night stay fans from all over the globe were treated to guest slots and duets with, among others, Elton John, Common, MIA and Beverly Knight while he performed in excess of 500 songs including covers from The Rolling Stones to Miles Davis and Amy Winehouse.
In years to come Prince’s showcase will go down as one of the most important and celebrated events in British, if not world, music history.Festivals of the Year
1. All Tomorrow’s Parties, the Nightmare Before Christmas, curated by Portishead.
Quite simply the best run festival there is: Great set-up, fair prices, excellent amenities – and unbeatable music line-ups, ensure ATP once again tops the music festival experience.Review and pictures.
2. The Glastonbury Festival.
In terms of atmosphere and festivities, the spirit of Glastonbury is alive and well. Shame then that the music was average at best and weather was, yet again atrocious. I’ll be expecting a more varied line-up (read: less James Morrison and Paulo Nutini, more experimental acts) and SUN, in 2008.Review and pictures
3. Creamfields.
Biggest surprise of the year has to be Creamfields; a superb, varied line-up, tight security which added to the good vibes and excellent transport to and from the Daresbury site ensured a memorable all-dayer.Review and pictures.Worst Records of 2007:
1. The Twang: Love It When I Feel Like This (review)
2. Hard-Fi: Once Upon a Time in the West
3. Calvin Harris: I Created Disco
4. Britney Spears: The Blackout (review)
5. Satellite Party: Ultra Payload (review)Venues of the Year
1. Liverpool Barfly.
2. Korova Bar, Liverpool.
3. Carling Academy, Liverpool.Films of the Year:
1. The Lives of Others
2. The Last King of Scotland
3. Eastern Promises
4. This Is England
5. Atonement
6. The Assassination of Jesse James By The Coward Robert Ford
7. Inland Empire
8. American Gangster
9. 300
10. Death ProofUps:
1. Electronic/dance music shitting all over trad, boring pap guitar-based drudgery.
2. Hooray for female rock stars: Beth, Lily, MIA, Amy, Tabitha, Kate etc shine while Bjork, PJ and even Joni make notable records.
3. Klaxons win The Mercury Prize. Good-ish. Would have been better if Bat For Lashes won, but hey, at least it wasn’t The View.
4. Radiohead return, and in style.
5. The death-knell sounding at lad-rock’s door as The Twang and their ilk saw scorn poured in their direction from nigh on every direction.
6. Knowing that this year’s X-Factor winner will be forgotten inside six months.
7. Looking forward to the new Foals record.
8. !!!‘s outrageously excellent show at Glasto.
9. Finally seeing The Verve live.
10. Live Earth: So forgettable it may not have actually occured .Downs:
1. The perpetual, excruciatingly nauseous gash wrote about Doherty and Winehouse.
2. The year of the reformation: The Police, Shed Seven, Spice Girls, Take That, Boyzone, Northern Uproar… please, no more.
3. Tony Wilson‘s death.
4. The Cooper Temple Clause split: blame the woeful Dirty Pretty Things for stealing Didz.
5. The Morrissey v NME race war – who cares, both are unutterably out of time.
6. The hoards of liggers and corporate whores freeloading at Led Zep‘s reunion gig.
7. Stylus Magazine ceasing publication.
8. Biffy Clyro finally getting the publicity they deserve while releasing their shittest record to date
9. The complete lack of anything good coming to the new Liverpool Echo Arena.
10. The complete lack of press for Oceansize‘s excellent third record Frames.